July 26, 2005

Changes in the global job market for science and engineering (S&E) workers are eroding US dominance in S&E, which diminishes comparative advantage in high tech production and creates problems for American industry and workers, according to a National Bureau of Economic Research paper.

July 26, 2005

Dr. Maria Siemionow of the Cleveland Clinic is planning to undertake what may be the most shocking medical procedure to occur in decades: a face transplant.

Her team has managed to induce long-term tolerance to hind-leg transplants with a drug regimen lasting only seven days. If similar results can be achieved in humans (many previous efforts along these lines have failed), the advance will alter the calculus behind transplantations,… read more

July 26, 2005

Podcasts, RFID tags, and mesh networks are among the 10 new technologies that should be on the radar of every chief exec.

For example, IBM is developing AI-based software called the Uber-Personal Assistant (UPA). It will analyze your schedule, e-mails, and the text you’re typing to figure out exactly what you’re working on. Then, it will alert you to new e-mails pertinent to that project.

July 26, 2005

University at Buffalo scientists have delivered genes into the brains of living mice with no observable toxic effect.

Scientists used gene-nanoparticle complexes to activate adult brain stem/progenitor cells in vivo, demonstrating that it may be possible to “turn on” these otherwise idle cells as effective replacements for those destroyed by neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson’s.

In addition to delivering therapeutic genes to repair malfunctioning brain cells, the nanoparticles… read more

July 26, 2005

Nanotech-enabled cancer therapy could be in doctors’ office within five years, says Dr. James Baker, who will head the University of Michigan’s new Nanotechnology Institute for Medicine and the Biological Sciences.

July 26, 2005

IBM and Switzerland’s Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL) have teamed up to create the most ambitious project in the field of neuroscience: to simulate a mammalian brain on the world’s most powerful supercomputer, IBM’s Blue Gene.

They plan to simulate the brain at every level of detail, even going down to molecular and gene expression levels of processing.

July 25, 2005

An AI-based unmanned stealth fighter jet, after being hit by lightning, decides to execute a top-secret mission that could result in global thermonuclear war. That’s the theme of the movie “Stealth,” opening this week.

July 21, 2005

University of Buffalo researchers have found that a ubiquitous bacteria strain previously thought to be harmless causes 10% of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) flare-ups or exacerbations.

COPD affects 20 million Americans and is the fourth leading cause of death in the U.S. Many of these deaths occur during times of COPD flare-ups. The new findings could lead to vaccines or other methods of preventing 2-4 million flare-ups each… read more

July 21, 2005

Human bone has a form of ‘glue’ or adhesive that acts as a shock absorber to help bone during stress, University of California Santa Barbara researchers have announced.

This “molecular shock absorber,” studied at a nano-scale molecular level using an atomic force microscope, is similar to that discovered in abalone shell. The discovery of these molecules may lead to better treatment of bone diseases. As Dr. Daniel Morse explains,… read more